🔼The name Pathros: Summary
- Meaning
- South Land
- Place Of Interpretation
- Etymology
- From the Egyptian pe-te-res, south land.
- From the verb פתר (patar), to interpret.
🔼The name Pathros in the Bible
Pathros is the name by which Mizraim's South Region. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for Egypt, and southern Egypt was known as Upper Egypt. The name Pathros occurs half a dozen times in the Bible, always in clear association with Mizraim (Ezekiel 29:14, Isaiah 11:11).
🔼Etymology and meaning of the name Pathros
The name Pathros is probably a transliteration of the Egyptian pe-te-res, meaning South Land. The writers of the Septuagint transliterated the name Pathros with Pa-athyris, meaning Belonging to Athor, but who Athor is remains a mystery.
The name Pathros may have reminded a Hebrew audience of the verb פתר (patar), meaning interpret (dreams):
פתר
The verb פתר (patar) means to interpret dreams. The noun פתרון (pitron) means interpretation. The interpretation of dreams is of course a very important craft, throughout the Old Testament and into the New.
But that verb neither contains nor explains the letter ס (samekh).
Some words of interest: פתה (pata), meaning to entice, deceive, persuade. Derivation פתי (peti) means simple, foolish. פת (pat) means fragment, bit.
The verb רסס (rasas) means moisten. Derivation רסיס (rasis) means drop of dew. The identical but unused and not translatable root רסס (rss) yields identical derivation רסיס (rasis), meaning fragment.
Hence to the Hebrews the name Pathros may have sounded like Bits And Pieces, or even Wet Lands, and Entreaty For A Drop, or any combination of the above.